


Universally Mistaken

by colazitron



Series: Fic Advent 2012 [6]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-07
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-26 09:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colazitron/pseuds/colazitron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis has a crush on Niall that Harry tries to convince him is sure to be mutual. Louis's pretty sure Harry's wrong about that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Universally Mistaken

"You are being entirely silly about this," Harry says, stretching out on the two thirds of the sofa Louis doesn't occupy and putting his head on his thigh.

"No, I'm not," Louis says, pout obvious in his voice, but hand obediently reaching to card his fingers through Harry's hair. It's very relaxing, so it's a win-win situation, really. Recently Harry's begun using it as a sort of blackmail tool to get Louis to Talk, capital T and all, but Louis'll take what he can get. He's a master of deflection anyway, if he really doesn't want to talk, he won't and Harry'd never make him. Loathe as he is to admit it sometimes though, a good talk can really help. This particular subject just happens to be one they've discussed time and time again and have very different opinions on. Neither of them are willing to change their mind and both of them can't seem to stop trying to convince the other one that they're right anyway. It's a bit of a curse how stubborn they can both be when they think they're right. Usually Louis at least gives some thought to Harry's opinions, because he's smart and insightful and he often notices things that Louis never would. He offers a perspective Louis doesn't usually consider and that's always worth lending an ear to. It's just that in this instance Louis knows that Harry is completely, utterly, 100% wrong. And, yes. he knows that's a pleonasm.

"Yes, you are. Niall _adores_ you."

"Well, what's not to adore?"

"Louis." Harry's gaze flicks up to hold his and the hint of a growl in his voice makes it sufficiently clear that he means business about this today.

"Haz, I've told you before and I'll tell you again - you're wrong about this. If anything, Niall adores _you_."

Harry presses his hands against his face and groans in frustration. Then he takes a deep breath and pulls his hands away to look at Louis again.

"No, Louis, please. You have to trust me on this. Niall is so fucking head over heels for you, it's actually a bit ridiculous."

"Are you sure you're not talking about yourself there, young Harold?"

"No. Don't you notice how he always trails around you, just waiting at a chance to feature in one of your insane schemes? If you said jump, he'd grab a parachute and not even ask 'how high'. Honestly, Louis. He's trying so hard to impress you, he makes me seem aloof."

"Nothing ever makes you seem aloof, love, I'm sorry."

" _Louis_."

"Give it up, Harry. You're not gonna win this."

"Jesus Christ, you're so fucking stubborn," Harry complains and rolls so he's facing Louis and the back of the couch, pressing his face into the fabric of Louis' t-shirt and the belly underneath. Louis sighs and resumes his petting, knowing that at least until Harry's sorted through the mess in his head and geared up for round two he'll get to have a bit of peace and quiet. If Harry ends up falling asleep under the ministrations of his fingers and he gets a bit more peace and quiet that was a happy coincidence and completely not by design, no, sir.

\---

Harry doesn't bring it up again for days, which is strange, because he usually pesters Louis for days on end before he gives it a rest. A strange Harry always unsettles Louis because it can only mean he's mulling things over in his head without telling him. Planning things maybe even. Harry planning things on his own is not something Louis is at all fond of. It's usually something that involves Louis and something he has no prior knowledge of. Pleasant as they usually turn out to be, Louis is just not a fan or surprises, so he spends the next few days in tense suspense.

\---

They're in... somewhere and it's been so long since Harry's brought it up that Louis's accepted he let it go. Of course that's when Niall knocks on his hotel rooms door and looks far too serious. Louis's heart plummets down into his stomach and he hopes to god he's not blushing with the hot flush that races up his spine and over his face.

"Nialler," he makes himself say brightly. "What can I do for you, mate?"

"Can I come in?" Niall merely asks. Louis steps aside and wishes this didn't have to happen. Oh, Harry's gonna get it after this. There is nothing that's going to save him from Louis's wrath this time, not even Louis' intense devotion to him and those silly big kitten eyes of his.

Niall walks in and gingerly sits down on Louis' rumpled up bed. It's an image that Louis would've appreciated under different circumstances but knowing that this is where Niall is going to break his heart and he'll have inevitably fucked up their band chemistry, because he couldn't keep his fucking feelings in check just sours the thoughts a bit. And, well, now that Niall knows the kinds of things that Louis thinks about him, he feels a bit guilty for them. Niall's his friend, for fuck's sake. Shouldn't he have a little, like, restraint or something? The poor boy never asked for any of this after all.

"Harry's been kind of chewing my ear off about this ... thing," Niall says. Louis' heart starts racing while part of his mind remembers that Chinese torture method with the bamboo growing through you. Maybe he'll tie a bamboo stalk to Harry's chest and watch it grow through him. It seems fair, since he's pretty sure that's what Louis's going to feel any moment now.

"Oh?" he asks, feigning ignorance. Maybe, just maybe, he can bullshit his way out of this one somehow and then at least their friendship can go on as it's been.

"Yeah."

"D'you... want me to strongly hint for him to back off or something?"

"No, that's not. That's not why I'm here."

"Oh."

"He was, um, saying things about you, actually?" Niall asks it more than he says it, like he's the one betraying Louis' confidence, when it was obviously Harry who broke just about every single rule of best friendship. Louis tries to make the most non-committal sound he can in response, but he thinks a bit of his sheer bloody panic comes through anyway.

"Yeah, he said." Niall stops himself and shoots Louis a wary glance before visibly steeling himself and barrelling on. Louis's got to hand it to him; he's got nerves of steel. "He said you fancied me, a bit, actually."

The thing with Niall is, Louis thinks, that he's just a bit different. Harry and he clicked in a heartbeat, Zayn and he are so similar to each other in a lot of ways that they just understand one another and Liam is the perfect partner in crime and yet somehow manages to balance out Louis' insanity with a bit of his residual sensibleness. Niall though... Niall is different. Louis doesn't understand Niall. He doesn't understand how he works and he doesn't understand how he fits so well into Louis' life even though he very obviously does. In the beginning he thought it was the same kind of brotherly protectiveness he feels for his sisters and even Harry sometimes, what with Niall being the unofficial baby of the group and always seeming so out of the loop, but that's not it. What it really is, is that Niall is just that bit of strange to Louis that he's enticing. That's why, no matter how hard he wishes he could've fallen for any of his other band mates because no matter how those situations would've played out they surely would've been easier than this, he knows he never would've. He knows Harry too well, he's too much like Zayn and Liam's just too much his _Liam_ , too similar in some respects and too different in others.

"I'm really sorry," he says. Niall's face falls.

"Oh," he says. "He _was_ having me on. Wow, um. That's embarrassing."

"Having you on?"

"About you fancying me." There's a deep flush on Niall's cheeks now, while Louis' mind is rattling in overdrive, trying to catch on to what's happening here. "He insisted but I should've. I knew better. I just thought he wouldn't-"

"He wouldn't!" Louis says, indignant on Harry's behalf. Harry would _never_.

Oh.

"He wasn't," he adds, his heartbeat changing from scared-fast to excited-fast.

"Why was he telling you?" he asks, gently as he can. Niall ducks his head lower and Louis's pretty sure he didn't catch the implication in what Louis just said, so he swallows heavily and decides to take the plunge. If he was wrong about this, he really _will_ murder Harry.

"Niall. I'm sorry if I'm reading this all wrong and making you uncomfortable with what I'm about to say, but. Harry wasn't having you on. I do fancy you. I have for a while."

Niall's head comes back up slowly and he turns to look at him with wide, glassy blue eyes in his flushed face. It's not very pretty but it's still one of the loveliest things Louis's ever seen.

"You do?"

"Yeah. I. Do you?"

A startled little laugh escapes Niall.

"Have you not noticed? Of course I do."

"Oh," Louis says. There's blood rushing in his ears and his heart feels like it stopped beating. He feels hot and cold all over and so, so pleased. Harry's gonna be so insufferably smug about this.

"Then," he starts to say, but doesn't really know where to take it, so instead he reaches out a hand to Niall and winds it around one of his. Niall licks his lips and looks down at it and then back up with a smile.

"Yeah?"

"If you want."

"I want."

 _To be loved by you_ , Louis' mind supplies and he tries very hard not to hum it, but he can't help the smile that breaks out over his face. Niall doesn't ask, just mirrors it. Louis supposes he’ll have to thank Harry now. Trying very hard not to groan at the thought, he studies Niall’s face instead.

“Can I... kiss you?” he asks. There’s a new rush of colour in Niall’s face, but he nods, mute. Louis shuffles closer and doesn’t dare lay a hand on Niall’s face, just leans in and tilts his head to the side a bit before pressing his lips against Niall’s in one of the nicest kisses he’s ever had. He really is going to have to thank Harry.

“I want to do this a lot,” he says when he pulls back. Niall chuckles at him happily and leans back in for another kiss. They’ve got time to learn each other now. Louis’s looking forward to it and from the enthusiastic kiss, Louis guesses so is Niall.

**The End**


End file.
